A press release from Novick & Associates, P.C.:
Another bizarre incident occurred in the ongoing litigation between the sons of renowned East Hampton sculptor Norman Mercer and BNY Mellon (BNYM), which is administering his estate, when the bank improperly turned over personal and financial information about its other trust account beneficiaries residing in the New York Tri-state area.
In its response to court ordered document discovery seeking the production of the minutes of the bank’s Trust Administrative Committee (TAC) meetings dealing with trusts established by the late Norman Mercer, BNYM produced TAC meeting minutes dealing with its other Wealth Management clients.
The information released included client names, account numbers, personal financial and family information in connection with requests for trust distributions as well as the bank’s decision on each request. After discovering the bank’s mistake, the attorneys representing Howard and David Mercer immediately notified the bank’s outside legal counsel.
This was not the first time BNY Mellon’s incompetence resulted in the bank improperly releasing personal confidential information to the Mercers. The bank had previously turned over social security numbers, bank account numbers and financial information about its co-fiduciaries in the estate of Norman Mercer.
Norman Mercer’s sons, retired West coast businessmen, Howard and David Mercer, are engaged in an ongoing legal battle with BNY Mellon to protect their father’s legacy from the alleged incompetence, negligence and wrongdoing by the bank’s wealth management unit.
The press release does not indicate Novick & Associates’ connection to the case, but yes, they’re representing the plaintiffs.
Attempts to reach BNY Mellon corporate communications for a response were unsuccessful as their contact form did not work in Safari or Chrome attempts.